Natasha & Jordan

A handkerchief embroidered with a warning against ugly crying sat on a teal velvet chair next to a handwritten letter. Natasha's bridesmaids wore floral pink robes and held hands on the sofa, and a flower girl in a matching robe grinned from the corner of a red room. When Natasha put on her veil, the woman fixing it had to stop and wipe her eyes. Elsewhere, Jordan checked himself in a hand mirror while a friend in a checked shirt fastened his bow tie.

They met first in the venue's garden, beside a rock waterfall and beds of bright impatiens. Then everyone moved to the sand. Palm trees line the beach at Anthony's Ocean View, and they framed a boardwalk aisle that ran straight to the water. Bridesmaids in plum sat in the front row, a man in a blue suit walked Natasha down the boards, and after the rings the whole beach stood up to cheer them back out.

Portraits came in soft evening light along the shoreline, Natasha's long lace veil catching the breeze and the harbor calm behind them. Inside, the ballroom glowed pink under crystal chandeliers, with a big screen congratulating the couple by name. They came down a curved staircase to cheering, danced their first dance with the wedding party circling, fed each other cake, and turned the floor over to family and friends who danced like they'd been waiting all week.